Submitter
Scott Litman, Managing Partner
Company
Equals 3
Industry
Marketing Technology
Business Challenge
Marketers are exposed to more data and tools than ever before, especially at the enterprise level where there is an abundance of disparate sources of information. Fortune 1000 companies generate mounds of data, making it virtually impossible for a human team to process or glean any meaningful insights in a responsible time. If marketers had the power to harness this explosion of data, teams could reap several benefits like freeing up time dedicated to researching, business development, determining market segments, and creating personalized campaigns for more targeted consumer communication.
Analytics Solution
After closely watching how IBM’s Watson technology augmented healthcare (another data rich industry), Equals 3 saw an opportunity for AI to ease traditional pain points in the marketing space. In May 2016, the company launched a cognitive companion for Fortune 1000 marketers and the agencies that serve them. Named Lucy, the solution solves the data overload problem that marketers and agencies have been grappling with for years: accessing the appropriate data at the right time.
Impact
Lucy significantly cuts down research time by scouring every document, database, report, or spreadsheet an agency or company owns and produces comprehensive reports in minutes based on that wealth of information.
Several Fortune 1000 brands and their agencies have adopted Lucy as their cognitive companion. Lucy is also a partner to industry-leading content and research providers like eMarketer, Dow Jones, and associations such as the American Marketing Association,
Advertising Age named Lucy the advertising technology/marketing technology/finance technology product to watch in 2017.
Equals 3 was IBM’s 2016 Watson Innovative ISV Business Partner of the Year for its dedication to innovative marketing through artificial intelligence. Equals 3 is one of only two Watson Ecosystem Partners (of roughly 600+) that is also a supplier to IBM, and Watson Advertising announced it as one of its core AI solutions.